Sachin Tendulkar: What his peers said over the years

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Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th test match, against West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium, will also be his last as the ‘Little Master’ brings the curtain down on a glittering 24-year cricket career at the age of 40. (Click here for main story)

Here’s a look at how Tendulkar’s peers on the cricketing field have described him over the years:

The nature of the cricket fans in this region is such that if a player tries to prolong his international career they tend to forget him soon after he retires – Javed Miandad (Nov. 2013)

Don Bradman is the greatest, there is no debate. Don is the No. 1 and then come the rest. And among the rest, Tendulkar probably is as good as anyone. So legitimately, he may be the second best cricketer to have played the game – Steve Waugh (March 2010)

I played 122 tests alongside Sachin, I never threatened his place as a batsman but he threatened mine as a bowler. He was a natural with leg spin – Anil Kumble (Nov. 2013)

He was shy and withdrawn. He wouldn’t have enjoyed captaincy. His middle class upbringing was a great sign for batting but to a certain extent restricted his leadership qualities – Bishen Singh Bedi (Nov. 2013)

To bat for my life, I would probably choose Sachin; and if I had a ticket and if I had enough money to watch one, I would choose Lara – Rahul Dravid (Nov. 2013)

From what we have seen in the last three months, he (Sachin) should have announced his retirement after the World Cup or even earlier. It’s important to know that every cricketer has his time – Kapil Dev (Feb. 2012)

After Nov. 18, there will be no Tendulkar in action. So the frenzy is understandable. He is the biggest cricketer after Sir Don Bradman and his retirement is the biggest of them all – Sunil Gavaskar (Nov. 2013)

….Vivian Richards, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and the likes of them are great batsmen who dominated with the bat and were truly match-winners. Initially, when I bowled against Sachin, I found these qualities missing. He might have had more runs and records, he lacked the ability to finish the game – Shoaib Akhtar, in his autobiography ‘Controversially Yours’

There are boxers with better records than Muhammad Ali, but if you mention the word boxing, you have to mention Muhammad Ali. When you talk of basketball, you have to mention Michael Jordan. When you speak about cricket, I’d speak of Tendulkar – Brian Lara (Nov. 2013)

(Disclaimer: These quotes have not been verified for authenticity)

(Editing by Tony Tharakan; Follow Sankalp on Twitter @sankalp_sp, Aditya @adityayk and Tony @tonytharakan.This article is website-exclusive and cannot be reproduced without permission)